Departure of Doc, KG would end an era for Celtics

It appears the daunting restoration project Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been putting off the past three years may be about to begin. Whether he really wants it to or not.

It appears the daunting restoration project Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge has been putting off the past three years may be about to begin.

Whether he really wants it to or not.

Ever since the midway point of Boston’s march to the 2010 NBA Finals, Ainge has explored dismantling the core of the 2008 champion. There were deals offered, deals proposed, and deals he thought were all but done that would have changed the course of a franchise’s history.

But through the end of this season – which concluded with a series loss in six games to the New York Knicks in the first round of the playoffs – the faces of the franchise had remained largely familiar with Doc Rivers as coach and Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo the three foremost figures in the locker room.

Now that may be changing in a colossal way that would slam shut this team’s window of championship opportunity for the foreseeable future.

Under the widely rumored and reported scenario of recent days, the Celtics would send Garnett, and perhaps Courtney Lee or Jason Terry, to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for young center DeAndre Jordan, aging guard Caron Butler’s expiring contract, and assorted trade filler.

Boston would also release Rivers from his contract in exchange for at least one first-round draft pick.

Subsequently, the Celtics would look to move franchise icon Paul Pierce in a separate deal – which could ultimately reunite him with Garnett and Rivers in Los Angeles – rather than pay him nearly $16 million at age 36 next season.

The difference between this mammoth move and others Ainge considered is the goal then was to remain competitive while becoming younger and more athletic. There will be no believable forecast of relevance if this deal happens.

After years of walking around with the box of matches in his pocket, Ainge will have lit the one that sends the entire championship era into flames.

How much of it he will be doing of his own volition, and how much he is being forced into doing by a coach in Rivers, who wants out with three years left on his contract, and player in Garnett, who could be more content to retire than to play with a rebuilding roster, was one of many unresolved questions as trade negotiations headed toward a fourth day Monday night.

Unlike in 2010, when Rivers requested a few weeks after Game 7 to reassess his basketball future after a long and punishing season, there is no pretense of increased family time and recharging of the personal battery. This time, it appears to be about a coach who shudders when he thinks of trying to trudge through another rebuilding process, possibly without Garnett and Pierce, and with Rondo running the show in the locker room.

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It has the makings of a highly unpleasant fate, admittedly, but one it can be argued Rivers knew was on the horizon when he agreed to a five-year, $35-million contract extension.

While pushing for a Clippers deal may be a smart move for Rivers – and one he will justify as being a good one for the Celtics given the assets coming back to Boston – it’s hard to shake the still-raw memories of how both Rivers and Garnett not-so-subtly chastised Ray Allen for abandoning ship a year ago for warmer weather, a better roster and a lot less Rondo in his life.

The difference is Allen was actually a free agent at that time.

For Garnett, Rivers, and maybe Pierce, this would be a shot to play for a title in the same city where they set the stage for winning one in 2008, and nearly won another in 2010.

For those who remain in Boston, those title-chasing days would instantly seem like a lifetime ago.

It was always going to end sometime, yet it was hard to imagine it would end quite like this.

A celebrated era in Celtics history may be on its way to becoming the past, while an ominous glimpse into the franchise’s future lies in its wake.

Scott Souza can be reached at 781-398-8006 or ssouza@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @scott_souza.